Medical Ethics Defense Act.

25LSO-0340
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0340
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0115

Medical Ethics Defense Act.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Ottman, Schmid, Singh and Styvar and Senator(s) Hutchings, Ide, Pearson and Steinmetz

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public health and safety; allowing health care providers, health care institutions and health care payers the right to refuse to participate in or pay for health care services as specified; authorizing religious-based health care organizations to make decisions consistent with religious beliefs; prohibiting discrimination for making health care decisions based on conscience; prohibiting adverse licensing actions based on protected expressive activity; specifying liability and damages for notice requirements; providing immunity; providing definitions; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 35
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34
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101 through 35
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34
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106 are created to read:

CHAPTER 34
MEDICAL ETHICS DEFENSE ACT

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101.

Short title.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Medical Ethics Defense Act."

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102.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this act:

(i)

"Conscience" means the ethical, moral or religious beliefs or principles held by any health care provider, health care institution or health care payer. For health care institutions and health care payers, conscience shall be determined by reference to the health care institution's or health care payer's governing documents, including any published ethical, moral or religious guidelines or directives, mission statements, constitutions, articles of incorporation, bylaws, policies or regulations;

(ii)

"Discrimination" means an adverse action against or the communication of a threat of adverse action to any health care provider, health care institution or health care payer as a result of a decision by the health care provider, health care institution or health care payer to decline to participate in or pay for any health care service on the basis of the conscience of the health care provider, health care institution or health care payer. "Discrimination" shall not include:

(A)

Declining to use, the refusal to use or the purchase of health care services from a specific health care provider, health care institution or health care payer if that health care provider, health care institution or health care payer exercises the right to refuse to participate in or pay for health care services based on its conscience;

(B)

Good faith efforts to accommodate conscientious objections of a health care provider, health care institution or health care payer.

(iii)

"Health care institution" means as defined by W.S. 35
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22
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402(a)(x);

(iv)

"Health care payer" means any employer, health plan, health maintenance organization, insurance company, management services corporation or any other entity that pays for or arranges for the payment of any health care service provided to any person, whether the payment is made in whole or in part;

(v)

"Health care provider" means any person who may be or is asked to participate in any health care service, including doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, nurse aides, allied health professionals, medical assistants, hospital employees, clinic employees, nursing home employees, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy employees, medical school faculty and students, nursing school faculty and students, psychology and counseling faculty and students, medical researchers, laboratory technicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, mental health professionals, social workers or any other person who facilitates or participates in a health care service;

(vi)

"Health care service" means medical care provided to any person at any time over the course of treatment, including testing, diagnosis, referral, the prescribing, dispensing or administering of any drug, medication or device, psychological therapy or counseling, research, prognosis, therapy, record making or record keeping, notes relating to treatment, the preparation for or performance of a surgery or procedure or any other medical care or service provided by any health care provider;

(vii)

"This act" means W.S. 35
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101 through 35
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106.

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103.

Rights of conscience for health care providers, health care institutions and health care payers.

(a)

Each health care provider, health care institution and health care payer shall have the right to refuse to participate in or pay for any health care service that violates the health care provider's, health care institution's or health care payer's conscience. The right of conscience provided under this subsection shall:

(i)

Be limited to a specific health care service;

(ii)

Not be construed to waive or modify any duty a health care provider, health care institution or health care payer has to provide or pay for health care services that do not violate the health care provider's, health care institution's or health care payer's conscience;

(iii)

Not be construed to waive or modify any duty of a health care provider or health care institution to provide other health care services or provide emergency medical treatment under 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd.

(b)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, a religious health care provider, health care institution or health care payer that holds itself out to the public as religious, states in its governing documents that it has a religious purpose or mission and has internal operating policies and procedures that implement its religious beliefs shall have the right to make employment, staffing, contracting and admitting privilege decisions consistent with its religious beliefs.

(c)

No health care provider shall be scheduled for, assigned or requested to directly or indirectly perform, facilitate, refer for or participate in any abortion unless the health care provider first affirmatively consents in writing to perform, facilitate, refer for or participate in the abortion.

(d)

Each health care institution shall adopt internal policies, programs, plans or procedures for each health care provider employed, contracted or granted admitting privileges by the health care institution for the health care provider to exercise the right to refuse to participate in a health care service based on the health care provider's conscience as provided by subsection (a) of this section.

(e)

Each health care payer shall adopt internal policies, programs, plans or procedures for:

(i)

How the health care payer may exercise its right to refuse to pay for a health care service based on its conscience as provided by subsection (a) of this section;

(ii)

The resolution of conflicts arising between a health care payer exercising the right to refuse to pay for a health care service based on its conscience as provided by subsection (a) of this section and a health care institution or health care provider who provided the health care service to the patient.

(f)

A health care payer shall file and update the conscience policies established under subsection (e) of this section not less than annually with the state insurance department by including a comprehensive list, by billing code, of any products, services and procedures that the health care payer will not pay or make payment for based on its conscience. The annual filing shall be submitted annually to each beneficiary of the health care payer.

(g)

A health care payer shall not refuse or reduce payments based on its conscience to a health care provider, health care institution or a beneficiary for any product, service or procedure that is not included in the annual filing required under subsection (f) of this section.

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104.

Participation in health care services; discrimination prohibited.

(a)

No person or entity shall discriminate against any health care provider, health care institution or health care payer for exercising the right to refuse to participate in or pay for health care services based on conscience under this act.

(b)

No person or entity shall discriminate against a health care provider or health care institution for:

(i)

Providing the health care provider's employer, the department of health or the attorney general of Wyoming information relating to any violation of or any act or omission that the health care provider or health care institution reasonably believes violates this act; or

(ii)

Testifying, assisting, participating or agreeing to testify, assist or participate in a proceeding concerning a violation of this act.

(c)

Unless the disclosure is specifically prohibited by law, no health care provider shall be subject to discrimination for disclosing any information that the health care provider reasonably believes violates:

(i)

Any federal or state law, rule or regulation;

(ii)

Any standard of care or other ethical guidelines for the provision of any health care service; or

(iii)

Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, practice or methods of treatment that may place a patient's health at risk or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.

(d)

The department of health or a board, certifying agency or licensing agency shall not reprimand, sanction or revoke or threaten to revoke a license, certificate, certification or registration of a health care provider for engaging in speech or expressive activity protected by the first amendment to the United States constitution unless the department, board or agency demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that the health care provider's speech was the direct cause of physical harm to a person with whom the health care provider had established a health care provider
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patient relationship within the immediately preceding three (3) years before the incident of physical harm.

(e)

Not later than fourteen (14) days after receipt, the department of health or any board, certifying agency or licensing agency, as applicable to the health care provider, shall provide a health care provider with notice of any complaint or action to suspend or revoke the health care provider's license, certificate, certification or registration. The department or a board or agency that fails to provide notice under this subsection shall be liable for damages of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each full or partial week that the notice is not provided to the health care provider. This subsection shall not apply if notice of a complaint or action is required to be provided within a shorter period of time under another provision of law.

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105.

Right of conscience and right of refusal; immunity from liability.

(a)

No health care provider, health care institution or health care payer shall be subject to civil or criminal liability for exercising the right to refuse to participate in or pay for any health care service based on the right of conscience provided in W.S. 35
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103(a).

(b)

No health care institution shall be subject to civil or criminal liability for a health care provider employed, contracted or granted admitting privileges by the health care institution for the health care provider exercising the provider's right to refuse to participate in a health care service based on the right of conscience provided under W.S. 35
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103(a).

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106.

Health care services and right of conscience; civil remedies.

A health care provider, health care institution or health care payer may bring a civil action for damages or injunctive relief, or both, in a court of competent jurisdiction for any alleged violation of this act.

Section 2
.

(a)

This act shall apply to health care services provided, and health care payment obligations, that were provided or arose on and after July 1, 2025.

(b)

This act shall not be construed to supersede any law of the state that is equally as protective of the conscience or more protective of the conscience than this act.

Section 3.

The department of insurance and the department of health shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.

Section 4
.

(a)

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2025
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(b)

Sections 3 and 4 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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HB0115